Star Crossed Xmas
by KatsushigaHoshibi
Summary: Itachi is wounded after fleeing an ANBU squad on Christmas Eve. Fortune turned its head in favor of him as he is rescued and healed by a lonely, young medical ninja. Part 1 of the Forgotten Springtime of Youth.


Star-crossed X-mas 

A Naruto Fanfiction

Written by Katsushiga Hoshibi

Author's Note: Japanese people introduce their last names first with their first name last. For example, Itachi of the clan Uchiha introduces himself Uchiha Itachi.

The Japanese language also has suffixes to be attached to names to indicate respect and status. '-San' is the most common suffix, equivalent to Mr. or Mrs. in the English language. '-Kun' is used for schoolmates and is also a familiar term to address boys with. '-Chan' is used for small children and is also a familiar term to address girls with. '-sama' is a suffix used to address a master or someone with great respect.

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Cold snow drifted through the boughs of the pine tree he stood under. Clutching his side, the thin shirt clung to his ribs, sticky with blood. His chain shirt had been shattered from the impact of the attack. Although he was an Akatsuki, Itachi Uchiha was not invincible. The ANBU ninja squad that chased him was relentless and it took all he had to evade them. Lady Luck had smiled on him that night as the soft snow covered his tracks. Unfortunately, she started to leave Itachi as his vision became blurred as the blood loss started to take its toll on his body.

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"He's over here!" The ANBU leaped from branch to branch in pursuit of the S-class criminal, one of the only two remaining members of the almost extinct Uchiha clan. The three-man squad were ruthless in their pursuit, several ranged volleys of kunai and shuriken made that clear.

Itachi was not in the best of spirits, fleeing from his resting place as soon as he was spotted. The amount of still falling snow made it difficult to manifest his more powerful techniques, so he had to rely on his sense of stealth as well as his proficiency with thrown ninja weapons. Wrapping his fingers around the ring of a kunai dagger, he flung it into the brush in hopes of throwing off his would-be captors.

They would not give in to his deception so easily. The criminal ninja grimaced, as they did not lose track of him. His eyes focused and let out his bloodline technique, the sharingan, so as to decipher how best to elude the ANBU squad. The bizarre three-tipped star eyes mapped the landscape in detail far superior to any normal vision. Itachi scanned the landscape hoping to find a hiding place.

"We can't lose him while he's dressed the way he is," one ANBU commented cockily as he threw a shuriken at Itachi, narrowly missing its mark. Akatsuki wardrobe consisted of a black mantle with red stylized clouds upon it. It was true that Itachi was not equipped for stealthy engagements. With the snow and dulled sun, it would prove to be a monumental task to escape.

That was when he smirked. Through the quick gestures of kujikiri, the ninja art of hand seals, Itachi turned to face the ANBU as he continued to leap across the branches in the forest. Taking in a deep breath of air, he prepared the final steps for the Dragon Fire Technique.

One of the ANBU grunted and released a shuriken that caught Itachi in the left side, cutting deep into him, even past his chain shirt The hit would come too late as the ANBU realized what technique they were about to become caught in. They had become careless in their pursuit of the fleeing shinobi and would quickly pay the price.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu," Itachi recited in his mind as fire flared from his mouth, catching the enemy ninja in its radius. Narrowing his eyes, he made more kujikiri as he focused himself to release one of his special techniques. "Amaterasu." The red flames that had engulfed the ANBU were covered in black flames by the second technique that burned them away. Itachi had successfully evaded his pursuers with his fire techniques, but he had not come away from it unwounded.

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Sakura Haruno has decided to take a stroll through the woods. She was feeling lonely that day, which was a day no one should feel lonely. Christmas Eve had arrived and she had no one to spend it with. The other members of her team and her friends were away on missions. Sakura's family had left to go on vacation, leaving her in charge of the house while they were away.

Nothing was more depressing than spending the holidays alone. She kicked the snow in an agitated fashion as she walked. Despite having mastered the emotional stability of being a kunoichi, a female ninja, Sakura was not immune to the holiday blues of feeling abandoned.

As she wallowed in her sadness, Sakura noticed an odd shape partially buried by the lightly falling snow. Curiosity taking the better of her, she approached and touched it. Recoiling in surprise, it was a man who had been apparently abandoned. Sakura swallowed nervously as she turned him over. His shirt had been torn open by shuriken, blood frozen thickly to his abdomen. Sakura was a medical ninja and trained to cope with odd injuries and situations, which was fortunate for the lonely figure.

Putting her skills to the mettle, she took his vitals to verify that the mysterious man was still alive. Sakura brushed away the snow that had caked onto his face and took a deep breath in shock. The face that lay before her was not an unfamiliar one. Many people knew how Itachi Uchiha, the dangerous ninja S class criminal, looked. For her, there was another connection. Itachi was the older brother of the man she pined for and used to be on a team with.

The only other surviving member of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke had left the ninja village in spite of how Sakura begged for him not to go. The younger brother had left to seek more power to carry out revenge against Itachi, who had single handedly murdered the rest of their clan. Sakura had loved Sasuke and it nearly killed her to have him leave their village of Konoha.

Sakura looked around to see if anyone else was surrounding the area. She could easily receive great prestige for bringing in a wanted S-class criminal, something that played around in her head. Instead, the kunoichi took pity on Itachi. Sakura took him to her house to tend to his wounds.

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Later that day, Itachi awoke in a feverous sweat. After having looked around frantically, he felt his injury to discover it bandaged. For whatever reason, someone had decided to patch him up. Whoever they were, they had also taken his weapons and the mantle that marked him as a member of Akatsuki. Itachi was lying on a bed in a room that he deduced must belong to a girl. The soft, pink colors of the walls and the stuffed animals haphazardly scattered around was indication enough.

One object caught his attention as he turned his gaze towards the bedside dresser, a photo of four ninja baring the headband of the Konoha shinobi village. Itachi calmed himself as he realized that he was probably in the middle of enemy territory. The next shock that crossed his mind was that one of the shinobi in the picture was his younger brother. Itachi stared in wonder at the image. His mind raced to decode the information. Given that there was only one girl in the picture, someone around Sasuke's age with pink hair and bright green eyes, he figured that he must be in her room.

Turning away from the fateful picture frame, Itachi moved silently to the doorway. Pressing himself flat against the wall, he listened for any sound of movement. After several moments, a door opened and closed. Careless footsteps made their way around downstairs as Itachi listened to the ruffle of paper bags. Time seemed to slow down as the owner of the footsteps walked up the stairs and to the room he was staying in. He had to make a plan to escape and quick.

Grabbing a vase of flowers, Itachi raised it above his head in anticipation of his captor walking in. Slowly, he in took a deep breath, intent on swiftly dispatching whoever was about to appear. The footsteps stopped outside the open door, giving away that the unknown person was looking in and onto the bed to see that he had vanished. A foot crossed the threshold and another sound of a footstep sprung Itachi's muscle memory to crash down the vase upon the intruder, only to find that he had missed his mark. Itachi had been deceived to think that they had entered the room. In surprise, he fell forward, twisting his gaze to see the pink haired girl from the photo frown at him. The next thing he saw was her fist connecting with his face.

Itachi hit the ground, tumbling to his feet. His vision blurred slightly as he gripped his head. The member of the elite Akatsuki wondered how a little girl could have hit him so hard. Blood rushed through his head as he sank to his knee in pain.

"You shouldn't move around so much. When I found you, you were half-dead," Sakura commented. "It wouldn't hurt to actually be appreciative, either."

"…Fine," Itachi said as he made his way to sit down on the bed. "Is there any reason I'm here and not under the care of an ANBU squad?" Itachi frowned a little in confusion. The ANBU were the elite of the elite ninja in a village. As he had earned the dread rank of an S-class criminal, Itachi did not understand why a girl would take the risk of harboring him.

Sakura briefly looked at the picture at her bedside before looking away. "Nostalgia, I guess." She turned to leave, looking over her shoulder. "You can rest here, I'm a medical nin, so I'll take care of you. I won't turn you in, either. A doctor should never betray the confidentiality of her patient." Itachi blinked, thinking that she couldn't be serious. Something about her demeanor faded his skepticism, so he let those troublesome thoughts slide away.

"How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen," she said as she started walking out of the room. "You should know that. After all, I'm the same age as Sasuke." Itachi sat in dumb silence as she walked down the stairs. Part of him couldn't believe how foolish she was acting. He was a wanted criminal that the ANBU would pursue instantly if they had known that he was present, someone who could kill Sakura in an instant.

If he were well, Itachi would have easily killed her. His reaction times were agitated due to the physical strain of the shuriken wound and the mystical chakra energy that powered his Ninjitsu techniques had become critically low. Itachi wondered how close to death he had actually come this time. The foolish girl deserved some credit, at least. Although she was only fifteen, she must be a competent medical ninja to be able to save his life.

Despite better judgment, he got out of the room and wandered down the stairs to find his hostess. Itachi had a few questions that he wanted answered. The world swirled around him a little as he sought her out in the kitchen. She was preparing a dinner and cutting up a daikon radish to add to a stew. Itachi's gaze wandered to his Akatsuki mantle hanging up next to a heavy winter jacket. Putting off his annoyance at being treated as a perfectly normal guest, he leaned his weakened body against the doorframe between the living room and kitchen.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi. Thank you for treating my wounds. I will be leaving now," he said with full intention to leave.

"With the amount of poison I had to remove from your body and how it had cut so deeply as to penetrate your liver, you aren't in any condition to leave," she said without turning around. Understanding crossed Itachi's mind as she said mentioned poison. It would explain how he was still so weak and unable to maintain any chakra. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"Sakura." Itachi thought for a moment. His brother had mentioned a girl to him with pink hair and a large forehead named Sakura. Like the other girls in Sasuke's class, his younger brother didn't like her. Itachi had always thought it funny how the young girls always wanted his younger brother. When he was growing up, Itachi was the top of his class and even became an ANBU squad leader at the young age of thirteen. He was deprived of romantic attractions because of that, something he was jealous of Sasuke for receiving.

"You can sit down at the table if you like. Dinner should be ready shortly."

Itachi slowly made his way to the table, careful to not fall on his face from his weakened constitution. As he sat down, he noted the various weapons as well as took inventory of what was around him. Feeling his wound again, Itachi realized that his chain shirt was also missing.

"Sakura-san, did you remove my chain shirt?" It didn't bother him in the slightest if a girl were to see him revealed, but the thought of sitting around in the middle of a village that wanted him dead without any weapons nor armor unnerved him a little.

"It was ruined beyond repair. However they threw that shuriken, it cut through everything. The chain links seemed like they were eroded where the throwing star hit. It actually hurt my hands to remove it, too. See?" Sakura turned around and smiled as she showed the ninja at her dining table the burn marks on her hand.

"Are the ANBU using acid on their shuriken now? Or was it some technique that I am unfamiliar with?"

"I wouldn't know, I'm only a medical nin," she commented. Sakura wasn't well versed in the various techniques that a ninja might use to hunt down an S-class criminal. She watched the stew cook for a moment before pouring tea for both herself and her guest.

"You shouldn't take strangers into your house like this. Were I stronger, I might have killed you." Itachi hesitantly reached down and took a sip from the tea. It was strangely sweet. Sakura sighed as she rested her palm on her cheek as she got a very distant look in her eyes.

"I guess that's what he might have said, too. I… shouldn't trouble you about that. I'm sorry."

"'When there is something to be said, it is better if said right away. If it is said later, it will sound like an excuse.' From the tenth chapter of the Hagekure." Itachi regurgitated the saying in agitation in regards to Sakura's rambling. To his intent, her green eyes looked up at him in shock. Quoting the Book of the Samurai to ninja seemed to have that effect at times.

"'The heart of a virtuous person has settled down and he does not rush at things. A person of little merit is not at peace but walks about making trouble and is in conflict with all.' From the second chapter." Sakura looked at him in a new light. Most ninja would sneer at something the warrior class honored, but she felt there was great wisdom in such tomes.

"'People with intelligence will use it to fashion things both true and false and will try to push through whatever they want with their clever reasoning. This is injury from intelligence.' Also from the second chapter."

"Itachi-san… Why do you study the Hagekure?"

"Why do you distract from the conversation?" Itachi sipped loudly from his cup. In western culture, it would have been a very rude act, but he made the intent of the sip known to Sakura that he had accepted his fate as her guest.

"It's been a few years since he ran from the village. Sasuke left because of you. He said he wanted to take his revenge," Sakura explained. Itachi froze in response, not wishing to give away any emotion. "I might have been just his team mate to him, but he was a lot more to me." Tears had dotted her eyelashes. Feeling a pang of guilt, Itachi tightened his grip around the teacup. "What's this..? I think something got into my eye. I, I think dinner's finished."

Itachi watched her move from the table to prepare the rest of dinner. Despite his lack of empathy towards the pains of women, he saw that she was hiding her tears from him. It was more than a little awkward, sitting unprotected in a potentially dangerous situation with an overly emotional medical ninja taking care of him. He felt that he needed to do something to break the silence.

"I study the Hagekure to focus my mind. A lot of people feel that I am wasting my time, but without a deeper philosophy, life loses meaning." Sakura stiffened at his words. Itachi frowned a little, thinking that maybe it would have been best to keep silent.

"Not a lot of people would think that. Many believe that our lifestyle is derived as mercenaries, hiring out to the highest bidder," Sakura said as she brushed a tear out of her eye. "I believe that books such as the Hagekure can give us deeper meaning to our life."

"This is somewhat true. The samurai live their lives in a state of death; the shinobi live to fulfill contracts. However, 'we all want to live, and in large part we make our logic according to what we like. But not having attained our aim and continuing to live is cowardice.' A ninja should not be a coward and should seek out their goal, even if it means death. In this way, ninja and samurai are not so different."

"Doesn't that passage go on to read 'if by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling'?" Sakura took a ladle to start filling two bowls to put on the table before walking over with the meal while she continued. "I took that to be more abstract, to mean that one's resolve should be firm in all things."

"The passage's meaning is two fold. As you said, it is an abstract concept meaning to keep firm resolve. Additionally, it serves as encouragement to die if the situation calls for it. As shinobi, we must be strong in that resolve. If our heart wavers out of fear of dying, we will make mistakes. For the use of Ninjitsu, this becomes a critical error. If one fails to be firm in their way of thinking, a technique could envelop partners as well as foes," Itachi smiled slightly as he talked. He was a prodigy his entire life and only could rarely enjoy intellectual debate. Despite being five years his junior, Itachi was content seeing Sakura as worthy of his time.

"Ah, I see. I think I have a lot more to think about Itachi-san. I tend to interpret the Hagekure more abstractly than maybe I should. As you said, there is a lot of literal information invested in that treatise," Sakura looked thoughtful as she sat down across from Itachi. The two began their dinner in silence.

"Sakura-san, why is it that you are alone on Christmas Eve?"

"Well… my parents are off visiting relatives in another country and my friends are out on missions. It really isn't my choice." She looked a little depressed. Itachi nervously stole a glance outside, to take in his surroundings. The lights of Konoha Village were bright and festive against the dark sky with the slowly falling snow. "What about you, Itachi-san?"

"I am a member of Akatsuki and my clan is destroyed, so I never have anyone to spend it with," he shrugged. It wasn't something he thought a lot about. Deep down inside, it did trouble him. Christmas was always his favorite holiday as a child. It was one of the few days of the year where he didn't have to try to excel at everything, when he could simply enjoy himself. Itachi's last happy Christmas had been eight years ago when he spent it with Sasuke.

"That's very sad… Everyone should have someone that they can spend holidays with." Sakura's brow was creased as she looked at him with pity in her gaze. Itachi was torn between being insulted and ashamed.

"Think of it this way. Neither of us have anyone to spend it with nor am I strong enough to go anywhere. If… you are okay with it, that is… we could spend it together," he slowly said, looking at her to gauge her reaction. It wasn't quite what he expected. First she blinked. Then her mouth fell open slightly. He realized that it wasn't every day that an S-class criminal asked for sanctuary on Christmas Eve and almost expected to be turned over to the proper authorities.

"I think that could work well. I mean, well, I'm a medical nin and I can't just let you take off while you're still ill, and I promised I wouldn't turn you into the ANBU." Sakura blushed a little. It felt a little weird that the older brother of the man she had been in love with for several years was asking to spend an important holiday with her. "Um, I'll just… step out for a bit if that's all right."

Itachi watched Sakura put her half-finished meal away and walk over to the door. To his amazement, she put on her coat and walked into the winter night. For a moment, he sat there, not knowing exactly what to do. Finally, he made his way to his mantle to search through the hidden pockets.

During various missions, Itachi had picked up random trinkets and items that were interesting in appearance or design. He selected two items and laid them out on the table. One was a black hair barrette with purple flowers woven into it. The other was a locket with a miniature painting of a blue rose inside of it. Smiling to himself, he tore off pieces of the paper bags Sakura had carried the groceries in to wrap up the items. It wouldn't seem like Christmas if he didn't give her something. In case she decided to bring the ANBU home with her, he positioned himself behind the door with his ninja sword that he found lying against the wall. If Sakura was planning to turn him in, she was either very naïve or very careless.

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Late on Christmas Eve, Sakura was running around trying to find a shop that was still open. It was close to nine o'clock and almost everything was closed. By a strike of miracle, she found an odd trinket shop that was just getting ready to close. She negotiated desperately with the storeowner and was allowed to search through the merchandise, but she was told to be quick about it.

"A bit late to be shopping, aren't you?" The storeowner inquired. He chuckled to himself. He was elderly, smoking on his long pipe as he watched her search around.

"Yes, I'm very sorry about this. Someone very special to me just dropped by who I didn't think I'd get to see for awhile and I want to get him something special." Sakura was looking through weird key chains that were specially designed to attach to ninja swords. "Do you think he might like one of these?"

"Hmm… Given the time of year, why not get him a lucky bunny key chain? They are very popular this holiday season." The storeowner picked out a pure white rabbit key chain with a bright pink cherry blossom at its ear.

Sakura blinked and thought it over. Although it was a weird gift, it would definitely remind Itachi of her. Especially with the cherry blossom, the flower of her namesake, placed upon it. Sakura resolved herself and paid the man for the odd trinket. She smiled to herself, thinking of the elite Akatsuki shinobi wielding a ninja sword with a bunny keychain attached. Some of his enemies might die from laughter.

"Ah, young love, I still remember those days. It must be nice to be in the springtime of youth."

Sakura blushed. "We're not dating…"

"A man that can't understand the feelings of a young girl just needs to be persuaded a little more. I'm sure he'll come around," the old storekeeper chuckled to himself.

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Rightfully paranoid, Itachi kept his gaze fixated on the door. At any moment, an ANBU squad could crash through and he would lose his life. Regardless, he focused his mind to the point of death. A single pair of footsteps stopped outside as the sound of keys caught the Akatsuki shinobi's ears. Although it could just be Sakura returning, ANBU ninja could be waiting to spring a trap. Gripping the hilt of his sword, Itachi narrowed his eyes and prepared himself.

Sakura walked in and quickly closed the door behind her, rogue snowflakes filtering into the house. She let out a breath of air as she hung up her coat. In a swift motion, Itachi holstered his sword on his back.

"Itachi-san, why are you sitting on the floor? You should at least be on the couch," she lectured as her eyes caught the hilt over his shoulder. It wasn't weird that he was prepared for the worst, but it bothered her slightly. Something quivered inside of her, making her desire his trust.

"A state of preparation. To prepare for the worst to receive the best." He rose from the ground to sit on the couch. "In doing so, I am following the Way."

"Is that your way of the ninja?" Sakura hid the package behind her. Itachi focused on her green eyes while catching the site of the package in his peripheral.

"You could say as much." Itachi reached into his pockets and pulled out the two small packages that he had stored away. "I have no easy way of saying this, but these are for you." The S-class criminal looked off to the side as he offered the two wrapped items to the young kunoichi. Apprehensively, she approached him and quickly replaced his items with her small package. Itachi blinked in surprise. She had moved quicker than he could react, which he felt was no small feat.

"A gift?" Itachi looked at the small parcel wrapped in bright colored paper.

"It wouldn't be fair to receive something on Christmas Eve without giving something in return, would it?" Sakura smiled a little. "Go ahead and open it." Itachi slowly unwrapped the parcel to take out the cherry blossom rabbit key chain. He blinked in surprise. "It's an accessory for your sword."

"Thank you, Sakura-san," he said calmly as he took off his sword to attach the small item. He had no intention to make it a permanent addition to his weapon. Itachi couldn't even imagine the reaction the rest of Akatsuki would have if he showed up with something that cutesy on his sword. Considering those thoughts, Itachi's heart softened. It was his first happy Christmas in awhile. Even if the others might criticize his tastes, he thought he might keep it there for a while as a good luck charm.

Sakura then proceeded to unwrap the items given to her. "These are beautiful, Itachi-kun," she said as she placed the locket around her neck and the barrette in her hair. Sakura was impressed by the gifts enough to even slip into using an informal suffix for her guest.

"I've had these for awhile, I just felt that you might like them. You have been very kind to me, Sakura-chan," Itachi replied, using an equally informal title with her. He placed his sword down on a low table while sitting close to her.

The two proceeded to talk about their lives a little, Sakura being very curious about how Itachi came to current path as a criminal. Although he guarded many of his secrets, the shinobi warmed to her advances a little. The conversation turned to philosophy as the night grew late. Finally, the two drifted off to sleep on the couch. Before dozing off, Sakura slid down the couch, lying against Itachi as he dreamed. In her sleepy state, she felt that this must be what it is like to have a boyfriend.

Itachi awoke a little after dawn to find that he was holding Sakura in his arms. Blushing a little, he laid her down before fetching a blanket to cover her. He then sought out stationary to write down a note before he left.

'Sakura-chan,

I must leave now, as you cannot be found harboring me. I wish we could have finished our conversation last night, but I feel that maybe we might have another chance at a later date. We may be enemies next time we meet, but I will always keep your memento on my blade.

With all sincerity,

U. I.'

Placing the letter on the table next to the couch, he looked at her again. Itachi felt a tinge guilty leaving her alone without verbally saying goodbye. There was something about her that allured him into wanting to stay. Leaning down, he kissed her lightly on the forehead. With that, he left early that Christmas morning, hurrying through the streets. If he were caught by the ANBU, it would at the very least mean that he would die.

"'According to their nature, there are both people who have quick intelligence, and those who must withdraw and take time to think things over.' It turns out that after everything that has happened, that I am of the latter sort," Itachi remarked to himself. He wondered what Sakura was doing at the very moment he had landed foot in the forest surrounding Konoha while he made his escape.

From still inside her dwelling, Sakura clutched the note to her chest as she stared out into the cold winter morning. Her Santa had come to deliver a special present and had departed with her heart.

"'You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortunes are matters of fate. Good and bad actions are Man's Way. Retribution of good and evil is taught simply as a moral lesson.' From the first chapter of the Hagekure. I wonder what passage is going through his mind," Sakura closed the shutters as she went to curl onto the couch again to slumber.

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Acknowledgements: I'd like to thank Sangfeli Hoshibi, my loving girlfriend, for the inspiration to write romance fics. Also to Silent Nox and her fanfic 'Charmed' for inspirtation to write a Sakura-Itachi fanfic set around Christmas. Also, to Dr. McGonagall (you know who you really are) for her help in all the literature classes I took from her as well as allowing me to submit this story for a grade.

References:

Tsunetomo, Yamamoto. (1716). Hagakure: Book of the Samurai. 1983 edition. Translated by William Scott Wilson. New York: Kodansha International

Naruto and all related names and places are property of Masashi Kishimoto, Studio Pierrot, Aniplex, and all related companies.


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